A man jumped into rushing flood waters to save a woman swept away into Bendigo Creek, risking his own life to secure her with ratchet straps to a tree, as Victorian towns braced for more flood damage.
The rescue came amid flash flooding across parts of the state, which emergency services on Tuesday afternoon said was easing. However, flooding along several rivers continued, with 20 properties in and around Seymour affected by the deluge.
Flash flooding is easing across the state but that brings the risk of riverine floods.
Major flood warnings were current for the Campaspe and Goulburn rivers on Tuesday evening, with residents in Rochester told to shelter in the highest location possible because it was too late to leave.
Freshwater supplies have been shut off to protect critical infrastructure but will be restored on Wednesday.
Crews searched for the owner of an empty kayak found floating down the Mitchell River, in the Gippsland region, on Tuesday afternoon.
Police later confirmed the male owner was found safe and well at Dargo about 6pm.
On Monday night a 74-year-old woman was rescued, after driving along Elmore-Raywood Road in a convoy with a friend when their vehicles were hit by flood water.
Her vehicle was swept off the road into Bendigo Creek at Naughtons Bridge and floated about 100 metres downstream.
She was able to reach a nearby tree when passerby Mitch stepped in, swimming out several times to try to reach her. He used a ratchet strap to secure the woman to the tree, and stayed with her for nearly an hour while emergency services responded.
Mitch told 3AW radio: “If it was my grandma, I’d hope someone would do the same thing.
“I called the neighbour and said, ‘I just need help with the bridge, come now.’ I sort of just took off my boots and jumped in.”
Mitch said that when he reached the woman, the car had disappeared into the water.
“You could just see the back windshield of it,” he said.
“She was clinging to the tree and saying she couldn’t hang on for much longer … I got around her and was going under the water trying to boost her on to the fork in the tree.”
Mitch then jumped back into the water and grabbed a strap from his car. He returned to the woman and used the strap to help take some of the weight off her arm.
Victoria State Emergency Service (SES) personnel and police swift water rescue teams used a boat to rescue the pair from the tree.
Tim Wiebusch, the SES chief officer of operations, said Victoria’s flood conditions were easing but warned people in affected areas to remain alert to risks.
He said that since 7am on Sunday, the SES had responded to more than 1,750 requests for help and carried out 52 flood rescues.
Rochester is still recovering from devastating October 2022 floods that impacted about 1,000 properties.
The flood at Seymour peaked late on Monday at 6.8m and waters there were expected to rise again to 6.2m on Tuesday evening, while at Murchison, the Goulburn River was expected to peak at 10.5m late on Wednesday morning.
Seymour residents have been told they can return to their homes.
An evacuation order for Yea has been downgraded but flood waters remain and it is not safe to return.
“Whilst the river levels have receded in some parts, we are still experiencing moderate flood levels and that means roads are still cut in a number of areas,” Weibusch said.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said on Tuesday that climate change was fuelling more extreme weather events such as flooding, as he visited Queensland to announce a $20m flood recovery package for the state’s south-east and north.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, told the ABC that climate change had resulted in more frequent flooding and extreme weather, underscoring the need to transition to renewable energy.
“Growing up in this part of the world, these summer storm events … were not a common experience, and it is troubling that it is becoming more common,” she said.
Speaking in Seymour, Allan said the loss of properties would be a “deeply personal and difficult experience” for people to go through.
She pledged to push the commonwealth for Victoria’s “fair share” of disaster-relief funding for flood-impacted communities.
The emergency is expected to shift towards Maroopna and Shepparton on Wednesday before heading to Echuca.
Up to 20 homes could be inundated and 150 could be hit by street flooding in Kialla and Shepparton.
Victoria SES spokesman Jamie Devenish warned people to be aware of the dangers of “blue sky flooding” as waters continue rising despite fine conditions.
“It might look like a really nice day but that water’s got to go somewhere now and it will push down the catchments,” he said.
